1155 South Rock Hill Road
Webster Groves, Missouri
314-968-1857
The Historic Christopher Hawken House is the oldest house in suburban Webster Groves. Christopher Miller Hawken built this elegant Federal/Greek Revival style farmhouse in 1857 for his bride, Mary Ann Kinkead Eads. The house originally stood on Big Bend Boulevard along Grant Road, and was moved to Southwest Park in 1970 in order to preserve the structure. It was the first home in Missouri to receive federal funds for restoration, which matched the amount raised by the citizens of Webster Groves and is listed on the National Historic Register. It is now maintained and operated by the Webster Groves Historical Society. Furnished entirely in the Victorian decor of that period, it is open to the public and special tours are available.
Christopher Hawken came from a family of gunsmiths from Switzerland. His father, Jacob Hawken, came to St. Louis in 1807 and set up his rifle shop where the Gateway Arch stands today. Jacob and his brother handcrafted the Hawken rifle, a black powder long rifle that was shorter and had a larger caliber than the "Kentucky rifles" popular up until that time. Historians have categorized the Hawken rifle as the "gun that settled the west." Many famous westward explorers and trappers, including Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, John Fremont, and Jim Bridger, owned these rifles.
Christopher was born in 1825 and worked in his father's shop until Jacob died of cholera during the epidemic in St. Louis in 1849. After his father's death Christopher headed west to California during the Gold Rush. He returned in 1854 and married Mary Ann Eads and settled down to life as a farmer. He purchased 100 acres of land in the country near the intersection of Big Bend and Grant Roads at 25 cents an acre and began farming and building a home. The Hawken House was completed in 1857 and was designed to look like Mary Ann's father's home. The two-story brick farmhouse was built by slave labor and the bricks were made on the property.
The house was taken over by the Webster Groves Historical Society in 1970 and moved to its present location. Renovations were undertaken and completed in the early 1970s. The home is decorated with several pieces that belonged to the Hawken family. The residents of Webster Grove donated the rest of the furnishings. A curator researched the period and used only items that would have been found in the house during its early days. In the basement of the house is an extensive collection of dolls from around the world dressed in their native costumes and a gift shop. Behind the house is the Webster Groves History Center, a rustic-looking barn constructed in 1976 that houses the Society's extensive archives collection. A garden at the rear of the house is a gift of the Webster Groves Herb Society. Visitors can picnic in the adjacent Southwest Park following their tour of the home.
Visiting the Christopher Hawken House
Visiting Hours
Tuesday & Thursday: 11 am - 3:30 pm
Sunday: 1 pm - 3:30 pm
Admission
Use the official site of the Webster Groves Historical Society to find the answers to the questions about the Christopher Hawken House that you may have.
